Dave Portnoy has shared a remarkable story from a listener of his podcast, who revealed that the show saved his life.
Portnoy, the brains behind Barstool Sports, co-hosted the “BFFs” podcast with Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia and Josh Richards, but made his final appearance earlier this month.
However, Portnoy’s final episode on December 18 proved to be a life-saver for one listener.
He posted a screenshot of a fan’s post on social media, detailing a moving story about how listening to the episode saved him from potentially dying.
It read: ‘Hi, you saved my life last weekend. I got caught up in listening to BFFs and watching TikToks of you, which kept me from going to the store.
‘I literally went into cardiac arrest 1 minute after watching your video and had a defibrillator implanted which saved my life, but if I hadn’t been watching you I would have left the house and this all would have happened while I was on the driving was .
Dave Portnoy pictured during his latest appearance on the ‘BFFs’ podcast earlier this month
On Thursday, Portnoy shared a post from a fan who revealed that the podcast had saved his life
“So all in all you are a life saver and the BFF pod saved my life too.”
Portnoy’s last appearance on the ‘BFFs’ podcast came on December 18 after he announced earlier this year that he would be stepping back from the show at the end of 2024.
But the latter show gained more attention when Portnoy discussed a feud between LaPaglia and another Barstool host, Grace O’Malley, that saw her leave the company.
As part of his social media post, Portnoy called out favoritism towards LaPaglia and now she herself mocked the claims while addressing his final show via Instagram.
“I know everyone thinks me and Dave are secret lovers, but seriously, these past four years of friendships have been a highlight of my time at Barstool,” she wrote.
“Sad to see him go, but very excited about what Josh and I have in store for our friends.”
Last week, Portnoy, 47, denounced claims that he was in love with LaPaglia, 25, when he approached O’Malley as he left Barstool.
“Emergency talk and talk – everyone knows Grace quit,” the 47-year-old said in a video on the BFFs X account. “I still get DMs from people saying, ‘Dave, you fucking fired her. You’re an asshole for taking sides.’
Co-host Brianna LaPaglia recently mocked claims that she is in a secret relationship with Portnoy
LaPaglia paid tribute to Portnoy as he stepped away from their Barstool podcast ‘BFFs’
“People are fucking crazy. People post pictures of my ex-wife [Renee Portnoy] online and said, “Oh, she looks like Bri, so Dave has a crush on her.” It’s fucking crazy.’
Portnoy, who supported LaPaglia after her split from country singer Bryan, said in November that he was leaving the show, saying, “The topics don’t interest me at all.
“They show me the subjects when I go in there, I haven’t done any research and I’m just ripping apart 18 year olds that I don’t even know. I don’t like doing that necessarily.
“It definitely achieved what I wanted to achieve when we started it. Josh and Bri will continue with it. It’s super successful, but yeah, it’s time for me to try the next thing. I had run my course with it.’
He added on a BFF show in November: “Just because I’m getting older, almost 50, speaking of teen drama, a little bit out of my wheelhouse.”